


I'll be there for you (you're there for me too)

by ZXI



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Gen, Generic Fantasy Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-09 03:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3234434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZXI/pseuds/ZXI
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan has to go back home for the funeral of a family friend. When he comes back, weird shit starts to happen in the Grump Space.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll be there for you (you're there for me too)

"Aaaaaand next time on Game Grumps, Dan finally eats something today." 

Dan could barely stop laughing long enough to reply, "Really? That's how you're gonna end the episode?"

Arin stood up, stretched, and yawned. "I have to stand up, and I'm kind of hungry, so I'm gonna go get food. You coming with?"

"Nah," Dan had finally managed to calm down enough to speak like a normal person, "I missed a call from my dad earlier, so I'm gonna get some fresh air and call him back."

"Alright. Back here in an hour?"

"Sure."

"You want anything?"

Dan rolled his eyes. "Go get your food, Arin."

 

Dan finally wandered back into the Grump Room more than forty-five minutes after Arin. Something had clearly upset him in the hour and a half since Arin had gone out, but he was quiet and plopped himself down in his usual spot on the couch. Arin had never seen him looking so despondent.

"Dan, you okay?" asked Arin. 

"Um." Dan paused, like he was having trouble answering, which didn't bode well for the answer.

Arin tried again. "Dan, what's up?"

Dan glanced up at him for a second, then looked back down at his lap. "I, uh. I called my dad back." Dan took a deep breath. "An old family friend died this morning."

"Oh, shit." Arin wasn't really sure what to say, so he handed Dan the sandwich he'd brought back. "...Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." Dan nibbled on the sandwich and put it back down. "I have a flight out tomorrow afternoon."

This was a little shocking"So soon?"

"He was Jewish. Funerals happen really quickly." Dan shrugged, and took another bite of sandwich.

 

Later that night, when he and Suzy were curled up together watching reruns of Friends, Arin said, "I wish I could help him out."

"All you can do is be there for him," Suzy said, and combed her fingers through his hair. 

 

 Barry took Dan to the airport the next day. Arin was in the Grump Space, cleaning up the messes of the day before. Suzy was out somewhere with Ross, and Kevin was playing music quietly in the other room. It was quiet. It was nice.

Arin's phone buzzed in his pocket. Dan's face came up on the message ID. 

_'hey, thanks for being cool about this'_

He fired one back _'ofc man just txt me when you get there safe'_

 

The reply came eight hours later at one in the morning. 

_'got back home safe. dad says "eeeeeeh hi Arin"'_

Arin replied six hours after that, when he finally woke up.

_'ehhhhh hi mr avidan'_

 

 Dan came back five days later. Arin picked him up from the airport. They exchanged a brief hug before setting out for home.

"How was the flight?" asked Arin.

"Exhausting," Dan said quietly, "There were at least three unhappy infants."

They didn't say much after that. 

 

Or the next day.

 

Arin didn't even see Dan on the day after that.

 

On the fourth day, it was time to record again. Dan showed up before Arin did. He seemed for all the world like he was back to his usual upbeat self. 

They recorded for a few hours. 

Dan was definitely not back to normal.

Arin knew this for certain, because there was at least fifty percent less dick jokes and Dan kept rubbing his finger and his thumb together like he was going to snap them.

He didn't say a damn word though.

 

The lights started flickering at weird times. Always when they were recording. 

Arin would be going off on some stupid, asshole game with shitty controls and Dan wasn't doing his ususal not-so-grump thing, he was just quiet.

And then the lights would flicker and they would stop for a moment, and sometimes the power in the whole building would go out for about ten seconds and kill their recording. 

They had the power company out more than once. They could never find the problem.

 

Dan had weird little tics now.

He wears long sleeves all the time, and fiddles with the sleeves constantly. Or he's drumming his fingers on the nearest firm surface. Or he's futzing with his hair, like he's checking to make sure it's still there.

Sometimes Arin would walk into a room and think he'd heard Dan muttering under his breath. 

 

Arin found a book behind the couch in between episodes one day. It wasn't in English.

"Hey Dan, what's this?"

Dan looked surprised. "Oh, I was wonder where I put that. It's Hebrew."

"I thought you didn't actually speak Hebrew?"

Dan shrugged, "I wanted to try to learn it again."

"Huh." Arin looked at the book once again and put it on the couch. "Can you say anything yet?"

Dan shook his head, "I haven't really learned anything."

"Come on, man, one thing."

Dan rolled his eyes and recited a short phrase. "That means 'I'm still terrible at Hebrew.'"

 

Dan came to the Grump Space with a solid patch of arm hair missing.

"I was playing with a candle," he said, "I dropped a match."

Arin was tempted to call bullshit, but he held his tongue. 

 

At one point, Dan sent a pencil flying across the room. It flew past Kevin's head. Kevin didn't even look up; he hadn't noticed.

Arin looked up from the doorway. Dan looked shocked that the pencil had gone flying.

 

 Dan kept coming around with some new almost-injury.

At one point he showed up at the Grump Space with a lock of hair visibly missing. He claimed he got gum stuck in it.

Arin reminded him of the peanut butter trick. Dan shrugged.

 

Dan clearly wasn't eating.

He had always been a skinny guy for being so tall, but now when they were roughhousing because they were on one hell of a sugar high, Arin could probably count his ribs by touch. 

"Jesus Christ, Dan, are you okay?" he asked.

Dan shrugged, "I'm fine." 

"No you fucking aren't, i can count your ribs."

"Arin, I said I'm fuckin' fine."

"Dan!" Arin reached over and yanked up the hem of Dan's shirt. It was worse than he thought. "You're a fucking skeleton.What is going on with you?"

Dan shoved the shirt down. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Is it - do you need to talk to someone? Because I'd never think-"

"No, it's not-" Dan stopped and took a deep breath. "Not even close." 

 "Then, what?!" Arin's was raising his voice now, "Dan, I'm worried! Suzy's worried, Ross and Barry and even fucking Kevin, we're all worried about you!"

Arin laid a hand on Dan's shoulder. Dan shrugged it off. Only, Arin was thrown across the room, like he'd been punched.

He smacked his head against the wall and blacked out.

 

He woke up on the couch with his head on an ice pack. Dan was sitting by his feet, texting.

Arin said, "Did you get the guy's license plates?"

Dan flinched and fumbled his phone.

"Who you texting?"

Dan didn't respond.

"What happened just then?"

"Something stupid."

"Dan, don't. Don't dance around it. You've been avoiding people for months now."

"I'm sorry." Dan finally looked at Arin. "You wouldn't have believed me if I told you."

 Arin decided it was his turn not to answer, and instead sat up and stared at Dan.

Dan sighed. 

And opened his left hand, which had been clenched, to reveal a floating spark. 

"What is that."

"Magic."

Arin gaped like a fish. "Holy shit."

The spark danced and twinkled like a tiny star, "I'd do some other stuff, but the last time I did a fireball I burned half the hairs off of my arm. I got too tired. It takes a lot out of you."

Huh. So that's what had happened. "So why did I-"

"I forgot I could do that, to be honest. The old man wasn't kidding when he said I had focus issues."

"Wait," Arin said, "The old guy who died a few months back?"

"Yeah. He taught me a couple of things when I was little."

The conversation was way too humorless. It was making Arin really uncomfortable, especially since Danny's mouth was set in a pressed-lipped frown, which usually meant he was irritated or upset. 

Then Arin smirked. "So what you're telling me is that the 'magic Jewwy powers' line wasn't a joke?"

Dan looked at Arin for a moment, dumbfounded, and started snickering uncontrollably. 

Arin guessed that meant they could go back to normal now. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So, I might continue this. In the meantime, have a lil bit of thing to contribute to the sore lack of Grumps fanfic.


End file.
